The Demon of Butcher Bay Ch.3

Ryuu sighed in relief at the comfortable feeling of the removal of the weights that had been plaguing him for almost a year. With how hard Riddick had been pushing him, he had completely forgotten about them. As surprising as it was, he didn't realize how much they had been holding him back.

Riddick was by no means a seal master, but he was proficient with them. He had taught him how to make explosive notes, and seal things in scrolls and such. Though that was pretty much the extent of Ryuu's abilities with seals, it was more than enough for now. The only problem was, was that they had precious few kunai to attach them too.

While Riddick had a set of wicked looking blades that he had called Ulaks, they did have other regular combat knives. They weren't as good with throwing as kunai, but Riddick said that this was good, that it would improve his accuracy even more than normal. However, with all of this, Ryuu now had his very own pair of Ulak blades. Riddick had called them his unofficial graduation present for finally becoming proficient enough to escape this place. Where Riddick had obtained them, Ryuu could only guess.

Flashback:

"It's almost time to leave." Riddick said casually as he ate his meat in a relaxed pose. They were eating lunch. While Ryuu was sweating from the light workout, Riddick wasn't even breathing hard.

There latest sessions had been entirely focused on mastering the unique improvised strategy that was involved with the Ulak blades.

Like Riddick had told him, Ryuu's advancement as far as his jutsus went was entirely up to him. Riddick demonstrated them, answered questions, and sparred with him on occasion, but that was as far as it went. Riddick only regularly instructed him in Tiajutsu and such, he didn't focus too much on anything else. Ryuu wasn't even sure exactly how many other jutsu Riddick knew.

Riddick taught him that although shinobi only had one, two, or at most three affinities with chakra nature, they could perform jutsu with all of the elements that were natural. The only drawback being that the other elements were harder to learn, consumed more chakra than they otherwise would, as well as it being nearly impossible to perform the highest levels of the other element jutsus.

So with that in mind, Riddick taught Ryuu a few fire, earth, and lightning jutsus. However, Riddick was fairly certain that Ryuu's true affinity was towards wind chakra, this was good news for Ryuu. It was perfect for him; the practically invisible wind blades were awesome. Ryuu made use of them fully in the last week to randomly cut people in half as they were walking around the various yards. Then, he simply left, leaving the rest of the nearby cons terrified, as there was only one who hunted them in the darkness.

End flashback:

"They're coming." Riddick said simply as they were making the final preparations to leave. Ryuu just looked at him in curiosity.

"What are you talking about?" Ryuu asked, his curiosity evident in his voice.

"Your recent exploits have forced the warden's hand. He has hired several A class Jonin to hunt you down. They will be down here in anywhere from ten to thirty minutes Riddick explained perfectly at ease. Meanwhile, Ryuu paled.

"What? You knew that this could happen?" Ryuu half yelled in confusion.

"No, I was expecting and counting on it happening. With so many of the most powerful guards and mercs searching the lower levels for you, it will leave the upper levels where you almost never hunted relatively clear, making our escape that much easier." Riddick explained as he finished sealing the last of their supplies and such. Ryuu just shook his head at Riddick's perception. Leave it to him to predict the warden's actions and actually exploit him drawing attention to them. With a sudden widening of his eyes Ryuu realized that that was what Riddick had been planning from the beginning, it was the whole reason that he had encouraged Ryuu to terrorize the local populace.

A sudden image of him ripping the warden's spine out flashed through his head, Ryuu just shook it off. While he wouldn't be opposed to actually doing that to the warden, he knew that he couldn't ever let the images be his sole motivation for hurting people. The images, or 'the whispers' were the side effect of signing the contract. While they weren't actually whispers, they ended up trying to influence him the same way, so that's what they called it as they couldn't come up with a better name.

Both Daichi and Riddick had made it a point to drive the point home that he could never give into those impulses. While the people in here certainly earned whatever they got, he still couldn't give in. the more he did what the whispers told him too, the harder it would be to ignore them when he was around people that didn't deserve to be hurt. Eventually he would go psychotic and turn into just another schizophrenic psycho.

Riddick taught him through certain mental exercises how to strengthen his mind so he wouldn't have to rely solely on will power. As it turned out, he had been doing one of them his whole life, playing strategy games with Daichi.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ryuu was almost shaking with some unknown emotion. It had finally started, they were being hunted, and they were using the distraction to get out. They had avoided no less than three elite Jonin and twenty elite Chunin as they made their way up through the underground prison. Ryuu knew by now that elite Jonin like Riddick were few in number, the warden must be spending a small fortune trying to hunt him down. Ryuu couldn't help but take it as a compliment.

They were approaching the final level; things were starting to get brighter, even though Riddick had told him that it should be night of the new moon, meaning that there shouldn't be one out. Ryuu had learned about the moon, but all he had ever seen of it was pictures that Daichi had drawn him. All the same, he was excited to finally see it in a day or two.

'Almost there.' Riddick signed to him. They were outside now, and it was a bit of a shock to Ryuu. He didn't know it, but the landscape was still considered ugly, but Ryuu didn't know any better. To him it looked alien, and strangely beautiful. He was in for a big surprise when he finally did get a few miles outside the prison walls; so far all he had seen was a single tree and dryish shrubs.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

They were at the last gate; past it was the massive wall that separated this hell from the rest of the world. They had to be careful though; there was nobody to blend in with here. The entire prison population was condemned to spend the rest of their lives without seeing daylight, they couldn't be seen right now.

Even though there were no prisoners, there were still plenty of guards around. Even though the prison was on alert right now due to Ryuu's exploits, they were relaxed. None of them had ever seen a prisoner up here unless they were being brought in, so they were relaxed, and not as alert as they should have been.

They had to move fast though, Ryuu was getting tired. After a year of training, Ryuu was able to move around in his own shadow for about twenty-five minutes. As they were moving in existing shadows, he probably had about fifty until he had to take a break. Riddick wasn't tired at all though. With this in mind though, they moved as fast as they were able. They had been traveling for two days before they got to the surface, Riddick apparently having scouted the rout a long time ago so he already had safe houses ready.

Almost forty minutes into it, they were almost to the outer wall. They didn't kill any guards, not one. Killing anyone ran the risk of the bodies being found, and therefore the guards knowing someone was around. They made good time, going through cracks to go through walls, and exploiting every little advantage that could be had. Almost there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'Finally,' Ryuu thought to himself, they had made it to the top of the wall. It was massive, towering at least seventy stories above the waste land below. It was a marvel of human ingenuity; Ryuu couldn't help but admire the men and woman who had made this prison.

After a short break, Ryuu and Riddick nodded to each other, he was ready. He had been training and preparing for this moment his entire life, this was his destiny, and he was ready for it. He and Riddick swan dived off of the wall at the same time, with Riddick pulling ahead a little due to his weight. The fall seemed to go on, and on, and on.

They were almost at the bottom, Ryuu could see it clearly. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he made the hand seal so that as he hit the ground, he melted into a shadow. Without missing a beat, both he and Riddick's took off to put as much distance as they could between them and the prison.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been almost two days since they escaped, they were still hiding during the day. Even though it they hid under ground during the day, it was still so much brighter during the day than anything that Ryuu had ever seen. Riddick said that soon the wasteland that surrounded the prison would end, and they would be in some light wooded areas, and then after a day or two, as they would be able to travel during the day as well, they could start the final stages of his training. Or at least the final stages of his training with Riddick.

Both Daichi and Riddick had explained that Ryuu would only 'need' his guidance for so long, that Riddick would only stay until he no longer needed him. After a little while, he would be able to start training himself, though his progress would be slower. That was fine though, Ryuu didn't mind. Riddick had already given him almost a year of his life, a year, just so he could perform a favor for a friend. Ryuu would be eternally grateful for that.

It was just as Riddick said it would be, they were in the woods now. Ryuu was astounded at the beauty of it all. He now understood, at least for some people, why some were willing to give their lives to protect their homes. Ryuu would do the same if he ever had a home like this to call his own.

In addition to all of the trees, there were also the sounds of all of the animals around. So many noises. From the simple swaying of trees in the wind, to his most favorite sound, the sound of wolves howling to each other. It was all so, so, awesome to him. Not to mention the light, it was so bright. Even the moon was blinding at first.

As they got to the actual forest, where it was much thicker, Riddick started instructing him again. Riddick taught him the basics from everything from hunting, to learning to use his chakra to dull the light let in by his eyes. He didn't have any sunglasses or goggles of his own yet, but he would later on. Also, using all of his shadow techniques in daylight was much harder. Riddick said that it wasn't actually any harder than making his own shadows in the dark; it was just a psychological block because they weren't as effective in the day light.

After Ryuu got the basics down for something, they moved on to the next subject. Riddick only taught him the basics, every else was up to him to figure out. All the same, Ryuu was fine with this. In a way it was actually more exciting this way, made it all seem more of an adventure.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you in anyway not ready for this?" Riddick asked Ryuu in his deep controlled voice. For a moment, Ryuu couldn't help but admire the man. He never lost his cool. Not to mention that he never spoke unless he really had something to say, it was just his way, it never bothered Ryuu.

It was exactly one year since Ryuu had signed the contract with the hellhounds. It was time to summon the lord of those magnificent creatures. Ryuu wasn't afraid to admit he was nervous, not afraid per say, but definitely nervous.

"Does it matter?" Ryuu responded in an equally controlled tone. Riddick just nodded and moved to the side of the clearing and jumped high into a tree. It was the middle of the night on a full moon. Riddick said the boss would be ok if it was in the daytime, but it would show his respect if it was at night.

Ryuu took a deep breath and a final look at the moon he bit his thumb, and then started going through the hand seals. At the very end he pored as much chakra into it as he dared, and slammed his hand to on the ground. A massive cloud of smoke poofed into existence, and Ryuu was now kneeling on the head of a hellhound that was probably forty-five stories tall.

"So it is time at last." Said the massive creature in a deep almost sinister tone. After that, the hellhound lowered his head to allow Ryuu to jump off. As Ryuu looked up, he noticed that it looked almost exactly like the one that he summoned a year ago. They had no need of armor because of the scales on their bodies, and their razor sharp claws were their weapons.

Ryuu watched as the summon looked over and nodded at Riddick who nodded in return. After that, the boss summon looked back to Ryuu. Ryuu kneeled before it, truly humbled.

"So you are Daichi's pupil, and legacy." The summon said with a tone that Ryuu couldn't identify.

"Yes my lord, I looked to him as if he was my own father." Ryuu said with honesty.

"I see, would you give me your name?" the summon asked even though he already knew it because of the contract. Riddick had told him that he would be asked anyway though, it was a matter of tradition, and a show of respect.

"I am Ryuu, adopted son of Daichi Nara. My parents whom abandoned me gave me the name Naruto Uzumaki." Ryuu answered not able to hide the small amount of bitterness in his voice.

"Very well Ryuu Nara. I will address you by that name unless you decide that you will accept your true name." the summon replied in a sincere tone.

"Thank you my lord." Ryuu answered in sincere gratitude.

"Look into my eyes." The great beast commanded, sounding every bit the lord that it was. Ryuu instantly obeyed.

It was only a few seconds later that Ryuu seemed to be put into a trance. Somehow, the great lord was almost entering his mind, seeming to look into his very soul. It was an almost pleasant experience. For the first time, Ryuu felt content. This master lord summon knew who he truly was, better than he himself did. There was no hiding from it, and it felt liberating to know that there were no secrets to be hidden anymore, no matter the demons reaction to him.

After some time, Ryuu came out of his trance like state to find that he was staring at the nighttime sky filled with stars. He looked around to find the master summon talking to Riddick; though they stopped the moment they sensed he was conscious again. With a rumble the beast made eye contact with him again.

"Ryuu Nara, I have looked into your soul, and I am satisfied. You are worthy of my clans loyalty. I am Shikyo, lord of all hellhounds." The demon answered with an obvious tone of respect.

Ryuu just blinked a bit. "That's it? You've accepted me, just like that." Ryuu asked in amazement. Shikyo appeared to raise an eyebrow.

"You'd rather me attack and try and eat you." Ryuu paled.

"N-no my lord Shikyo." The summon rumbled in laughter. Ryuu also caught the incredibly rare sight of Riddick smirking.

"I have peered into your soul, I know the real you. There is no other test that could do more to reveal your true character." Shikyo exclaimed patiently. Ryuu just nodded in understanding. "Well if that's all, I will be leaving now. Do not hesitate to call upon our services if ever you find yourself in jeopardy. On that note, there are a few fledglings that would be most grateful if you summoned them for no other reason than to 'play'." The boss summon added dryly. Ryuu couldn't help but smile at the idea of summoning a hellhound for no other reason than to help him train, or just to screw around.

And with that, Shikyo dispelled himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Riddick had been gone for a week; his departure was surprisingly not awkward at all. Just like with Daichi, Ryuu knew it was coming. Riddick stayed a day or two after the summoning to teach him a little more about summoning, and then he simply wished Ryuu good luck, and left.

Ryuu smiled at the memory, he was sure that one day he would meet Riddick again no matter what. So for now, he was just focusing on trying to find civilization. He had forgotten to ask Riddick which way to head to find a village, or any community for that matter. For all Ryuu knew, he was heading to a part of the earth that was completely uninhabited. Ryuu just laughed at all of it, this was how Riddick joked anyway.

So with those thoughts, Ryuu simply followed his gut and headed in the direction that he thought other people were. During his days, he trained as much as he wanted to. It was a lot of fun practicing and perfecting his more powerful and destructive jutsus without worry, or at least without any thing that he knew of.

On the days where he was sore, he just traveled, just taking in the miracles of nature. Even after being out side for over a month, he still was taken aback every time he saw a tree, or heard a wild animal.

Even though he had Daichi to watch over him, it was inevitable that he would be influenced by the monsters that he grew up around. The only reason that he didn't end up like them was because he loved Daichi, that was it. Even still, he was so tired of being pissed off all of the time, hate is like a virus. Hate consumes you, and you can't help but hate the hate that's consuming and poisoning your mind. So you take it out on other people, you make them feel your pain and hate, and in turn they do the same to you.

But it was so peaceful out here, no worries, no hate, at least not right now. He knew that no matter what, he would never take this freedom for granted, not ever. He would fight to stay out of prison, but not at the guarantied cost of his life. He was a survivor. He escaped once, he could do it again, he would find a way. And if there wasn't a way, he would make one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX One year later:

"Mother fucker." Ryuu cursed, he was in a position where he could either obey his conscience, go back to prison, or worse. He was currently in a border crossing between two nations too small to bother to know the names of; he had traveled over a thousand miles, and seen many things since he escaped. He was now fifteen, and much wiser, as well as much more powerful.

Even through all of this though, he had been hunted for the last five months. Five months ago, he had stumbled on a scene that he couldn't ignore, and because of it, he got a bounty on his head that was only growing.

Flashback:

'This one is much bigger.' Ryuu thought to himself as he looked around. It was the first ninja village he had visited that was actually one of the five main nations, Iwa.

While it was a big village, and interesting enough, Ryuu still didn't like it. He didn't know why, but he still didn't like it, he was going to follow his gut and leave when he ran into a little bit of a problem. He came across a woman being beaten, and more than likely end up being raped.

Ryuu was walking towards the gates of this village, he was leaving. While he was ok with the village itself and the people, he didn't like the crowds, the population was huge. Was leaving in plain sight in the middle of the day, he had nothing to hide. Though it may have looked that way. He did make a little bit of an imposing figure.

He was still a kid, barely fifteen, but you could tell that he was dangerous. He had bought a new updated version of the armor he wore in prison. A one piece light piece that protected his back, sides, front, and his shoulders. Because it was light, it was flexible, it suited him. He wore sunglasses to cover his eyes, though they did fit very close to his face, completely sealing off his eyes from the daylight.

He wore black bracers, and greaves, and tactical pants as well. And to top it all off, he wore a pitch black cloak. The cloak had a hood in which the fabric was much stiffer so it retained a constant shape. In addition to this, he could fold it into a high collar as well. It was not a one piece though. It had several buckles on the chest, following that it opened up and hung to his shins. If he wanted though, there were buckles on the inside that could keep it closed if he wanted to stay warm as it was a 'heavy' cloak and could keep him warm in a cold climate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"PLEASE, TAKE WHAT YOU WANT, I WONT REPORT THIS!" a woman's voice rang out in a strangled wail right before an audible smack was heard.

"Shut up bitch! This is your fault anyway!" a cruel voice rang out with the slur of booze in his voice.

"Ya, you….um." apparently not finding a suitable excuse the second voice hit her again.

It took Ryuu about two seconds to decide what to do. Riddick probably wouldn't have done anything, unless children were involved, but he wasn't Riddick. No, he was his own person. And this person would not sit ideally by and let this woman be raped. For that was what was inevitably going to happen.

It was very simple actually, even though they were Chunin. Ryuu was on the rooftop above them while they were beating the poor woman. They were so drunk that Ryuu didn't even bother to try to be stealthy. He simply stepped off of the edge and buried both of the blades in their skulls.

Though the woman was grateful, he had to leave. They were shinobi after all, and leaf shinobi in Iwa could mean only one thing, they were ambassadors. They would find this woman, they would make her talk, and they would know his description. Ryuu didn't know a whole lot, but it was obvious what would happen if the deaths of ambassadors to a major nation were killed, and then the murders were not solved. Given the two nations history, it would certainly lead to war. Unless Iwa wanted a war, which was unlikely, they would spare no resource; share all information to solve this case, and otherwise do just about anything to convince Konoha that they weren't trying to pick a fight.

Ryuu had about twenty-four to thirty-six hours before he was one of the most wanted men in the world. He was fucked, at best; he was going back to Butcher Bay. At worst, it was a fate worse than death.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX End flashback:

He stared at the dead child, no older than ten. And then looked to the six more that were being held in a way that promised sudden death if he made any move. The mercenary turned bounty hunter known only by the alias 'Tombs' looked at him with a smirk of victory.

Ryuu both despised, and respected Tombs. Tombs was a mid class Jonin, who never worked with people stronger than him. He had been tracking, and hunting Ryuu for months. Tombs had a lot of connections, while not an incredibly intelligent man, he knew his trade. The second time Ryuu and Tombs fought, along with his old crew, Tombs revealed that he knew Ryuu was the demon of Butcher Bay. While he didn't know Ryuu's name, he was sure it was him.

It really wasn't all that hard to figure out, not with the amount of activity in the mercenary world a year and a half earlier. Butcher Bay had sent out a contract for only veteran elite shinobi for hire, with the addition that they would hire as many that showed up, this was big news in the trade. It became even bigger news when the 'Demon' was never found. They knew the contract was valid, no one put out a contract with five figures each without being one hundred percent sure that it was valid.

When the 'demon' was not found, it didn't take long for them to put together the pieces. After a few days, the company that ran the prison decided on a course of action. While they would put out a bounty on the Demon, it would not be ridiculously huge. While the demon had humiliated them, it was no longer their problem. Add to the fact that no one had any leads to the identity of the demon, it was settled that a bounty of a hundred thousand dollars was sufficient.

Tombs had tricked Ryuu, until Ryuu was actually confronted Tombs had just asked on instinct. If Ryuu had tried to deny it, if he had laughed, Tombs would have dropped all assumptions. But Ryuu didn't deny it, he had said nothing. That was all Tombs needed to know. While Tombs had threatened to reveal Ryuu's existence to the world, Ryuu knew he wouldn't, he was too big of a score as it was. Ryuu was worth so much that one hint that this guy knew where he might be and Tombs himself would be in danger.

Even still, Ryuu was in too much of a hurry at the time finish off Tombs, he had killed his crew, but Ryuu knew Tombs was still alive. That was two months ago, and Ryuu hadn't stopped moving since. Ryuu had no idea how Tombs was tracking him. Ryuu had checked himself countless times for any tracking device, he had randomized his patterns, both avoiding people, and then trying to hide in plain sight, and it didn't work. It should have been impossible for Tombs to track him, but he was, and he did.

Tombs had finally caught up to him, and this time, he wasn't taking any chances. Ryuu had been careful to only reveal basic jutsus that were unremarkable, relying on his superior Tiajutsu skills, but Tombs knew he was holding back somehow. It was just pure instinct on his part, that was all it was.

Ryuu looked again at the petrified, pleading looks of the street rat children that were being threatened to be executed if he didn't surrender himself. He was good, but he wouldn't be able to save all of them

"Five seconds." Tombs barked. Ryuu only needed two to make his decision.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Riddick had told him of this seal, used to transport prisoners. It was a seal that put the prisoner in a sort of suspended animation. A combination of seal work, and a powerful Genjutsu. They were in a sort of trance, body slowed down, mind slowed down. It was said that the brain shut down in it, all but the primitive side, the animal side.

'No wonder I'm still awake.' Ryuu thought to himself. Though he admitted that it was probably due to the Kyubi slowly fusing with him.

It unnerved and scared the rouge ninja to no end that Ryuu wouldn't go completely to sleep, so they kept hostages just in case. Ryuu knew that with time, he could have broken out, freed himself. But Tombs took no chances, making sure that the seals stayed intact, and kept a child hostage at all times. Ryuu longed for the day he could peel Tombs's face off his skull.

Ryuu wasn't sure where they were headed, Konoha, or Butcher Bay. But it really was a no contest. Ryuu had no idea what his bounty was, he was sure that it was astronomical by now. Eventually Tombs revealed that he was planning to tell the Hokage of his identity when he picked up payment, in hopes of collecting that bounty as well.

Finally, Ryuu was relieved completely of his seals, he was awake, aware. While he was still weaker than he was before, the Kyubi had made sure to keep his body from completely atrophying.

He looked up to see Tombs walking up to the gate guard to inform him the prisoner transfer. Expectedly, the guards were shocked. They just stared at him for a few moments. It wasn't everyday that you got to even see a person that was responsible for not only almost sparking a very big war, but that wasn't what was so significant about it. No one had ever almost gotten away with it. One way or another, they died within twenty-four hours, he had lasted almost seven months. Ryuu was going to be recorded among the most infamous men in history.

Eventually, they let them in. Ryuu was in a cage, a kind of open carriage with bars actually, they didn't take him out, not yet anyway. They slowly rolled him forward into the village, where a very big greeting party was waiting for him. Ryuu smirked; this was going to be interesting.

Yes, this story will go on. Yes it will start to get better from now on as I will be able to write in the present tense and not simply 'speed' write because I'm lazy at the moment. Later on ill do flashbacks to explain some the sources and friends he has outside of Konoha, but not for a while.

Oh ya, Ryuu's eyes are not the sharingan. While he will eventually gain the ability mention, which I will explain when it comes up, it will not be just a replica of the sharingan. No, almost all of Ryuu's shined eyes abilities are pretty strait forward.

I didn't much like the way this chapter came out, but please have faith in me! I will not fail you in the next one, Believe it!